Fluid pressure regulating device



March 27, 1956 D. c. MURRAY 2,739,607

FLUID PRESSURE REGULATING DEVICE Filed May 5, 1952 H is Att crney.

FLUID PRESSURE REGULATING DEVICE Donald C. Murray, Sharonvilie, Ohio, assigner to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application May 3, 1952, Serial No. 285,933

4 Claims. (Cl. 137-332) This invention relates to pressure regulating devices and has for its object the provision of an improved regulating means capable of maintaining extremely accurate pressure output.

In modern gas turbine design, it is customary to provide a plurality of combustion chambers connected in parallel instead of employing a single, relatively large combustion chamber for generating hot motive uid which is utilized to drive a turbine. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that when a plurality of combustion chambers are employed in this fashion, it is necessary to very carefully match each of the fuel nozzles associated therewith so that each combustion chamber will receive fuel at the same rate at which the fuel is supplied to all of the other chambers. In the operation of gas turbines of the type descibed, the pressure of the fuel supplied to each of the fuel nozzles may vary through an extremely wide pressure range, for example, from about 2O lbs./ sq. in. to pressures as high as 500 lbs/sq. in. According ly,'-.it is necessary to check the characteristics of each fuel nozzle to be utilized in such apparatus throughout its entire operating range in order to insure that the ow characteristics of each nozzle correspond to the iiow character'- istics of other nozzles to be utilized for the same purpose. Obviously, during the matching tests which are conducted on each nozzle, it is necessary to accurately set and maintain within extremely close limits the pressure supplied to each nozzle while it is undergoing such a test.

It was found that commercial pressure regulating devices presently on the market were incapable of maintaining the pressure supplied to such fuel nozzles within the desired limits of accuracy. Most pressure regulating Ydevices which are presently commercially available are capable of regulating pressure within 4 to 5% of the desired value. With my improved regulating device it is possible to regulate iiuid pressure within small fractions ofa percent of the desired value.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a view, partly in section, of a regulating device in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a View, similar to Figure 1, except that means are provided for guiding uid into the restricted passageway associated with the piston; Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2 with a modified fluid guiding means; Figure 4 is still another modification of the arrangement shown in Figure l; Figure 5 is still another modiiication of the arrangement shown in Figure 1 for minimizing the dynamic effect of the ow into the restricted passageway; and Figure 6 is still another modiiication of the arrangement shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to Figure l, a housing member 1 is provided with a bore portion 2 for receiving a piston member 3. For reasons which will become apparent as the description proceeds, it is preferable, although not essential, that bore portion 2 be disposed in a vertical direction. A iiuid inlet port 4 and a discharge port 5 are provided in housing member 1 for receiving fluid from conduit 6 and for discharging uid into conduit 7, respectively. Ports 4, 5 communicate with bore portion 2 by means of connecting passageways 8 and 9, respectively.

Piston 3 is slidably disposed in bore portion 2. In order to provide means for establishing communication between ports 4 and 5 at least in some positions of piston member 3, an end portion 3a of the piston member is threaded as indicated in the drawing. When piston memi f ber 3 is in the position shown in the drawing, there is no communication between ports 4 and 5 except for the rather small clearance space formed between the walls of housing 1 which form bore portion 2 and the smooth exterior Unthreaded portion of piston 3. When piston 3 is in the position shown in Figure 1, no flow will occur from inlet port 4 to discharge port 5 except for some slight leakage which will occur through this leakage space. However, when piston 3 is lifted a suicient amount so that a portion of threaded portion 3a is adjacent connecting passage 9, it will be seen that communication is established between ports 4 and 5 through connecting passage 8, bore portion 2, threaded portion 3a, and connecting passage 9, the iiow passageway formed by threaded portion 3a being in the form of a helix and defined by the walls of adjacent teeth and the surface of bore portion 2.

It will be apparent to those skilledV in the art that the passageway formed by threaded portion 3a in cooperation with bore portion 2 constitutes a variable restricting means, the degree of restriction being determined by the position of piston 3 which in turn determines the amount of threaded portion 3a which is disposed between connecting passages 8, 9. It will be seen that when piston 3 is lifted from the position shown in Figure l by a relatively small amount, a relatively large amount of threaded portion 3a will be disposed between connecting passages 8 and 9. Therefore, in such a position, the degree of restriction provided by threaded portion 3a will be relatively high and only a small amount of iiow will pass from conduit 6 from inlet port 4 to discharge port 5. On the other hand, when piston 3 is lifted a greater amount sothat less threaded portion 3a is disposed between connecting passageways 8 and 9, a lesser degree of restriction is thus provided and a greater amount of iiow will pass from inlet port 4 to discharge port 5.

A shoulder 10 is provided to limit the movement of piston 3 so that connecting passageway 8 will never be completely or partially block off. In this way, fluid pressure will always be communicated to the face 11 of piston 3 whenever uid pressure is supplied to inlet port 4. If desired, shoulder 10 may be formed as an integral part of vpiston member 3, or shoulder 10 may be formed by the provision of a separate member 12 carried by and connected to piston 3. A table memberv13 is secured to piston 3 for receiving weighted members in a mannerv similar to that employed for supporting weighted members in the dead-weight type of pressure gauge, a well known device for measuring iiuid pressure.

Fluid is supplied from a reservoir 14 through conduit 15 to a pump 16. The pump 16 delivers the uid under pressure through conduit 17 to a fluid consumer 18. For example, the fluid consumer might be a iluid spray nozzle of the type previously referred to. As will be apparent from Figure 1, conduit 6 is connected to discharge conduit 17 and to inlet port 4 while conduit 7 is connected to inlet conduit 1S and to discharge port 5 so that conduits 6, 7 and the regulator are connected in bypass relation with respect to pump 16 and conduits 15, 17.

In operation with pump 16 delivering iiuid under pressure to conduit 17, the pressure existing in conduit 17 is communicated to the face 11 of piston member 3 through conduit 6, connecting passageway 8, and bore portion 2. The iluid pressure acting on face 11 exerts Patented Mar. 27, 1956 a force tending to move piston member 3 in an upward direction relative to casing member 1. Neglecting -the effects of friction for the moment, piston member 3 accordingly will begin tomove upward relative tov casing. IA until the combined weight of piston member 3, collar 12, table 13, plus- -the weight of any weights which may be carriedv by table' 13 is equal in magnitude to the.v upward uid pressure force ,exertedY against face 11.. A condition of equilibrium isreached when the downward weight force is. exactly balanced by the upward pressure force and. in this condition piston 3 will float at some level above that shown in Figure l.

When piston 3 is int a floating position, it will be seen that a portion. of thread 3a hasmoved upward and beyond passageway 9. 'In such position, communication is established between* conduits 6 and 7 through passageway 8, bore portion 2, the continuous helical passageway formed between adjacent threads of threaded portion 4 and passageway 9 so that fluid discharged by pump 16` will ow first through conduit 1-7, then through conduit .6 through the regulator, and is finally returned to inlet conduit 15 by conduit 7. Thus it will be seen that the regulator constitutes a variable flow restricting means wherein the magnitude of ow restriction is dependent upon the length of the. threaded portion through which fluid must tlow before reaching passageway 9. With a small amount of weight or no weight at all placed upon table 13, piston, 3 will'v oat at a relatively high level with a relatively small amount of threaded portion extending below passageway 9. Therefore, the amount of huid bypassed by the regulator and returned to inlet conduit 15 be relatively high. On thev other hand, if a relatively large Weight is supported by table 13, a relatively larger portion of. threads 3a.' will extend below passageway 9thus presenting.' a greater' restriction to the bypass ilow which will then be correspondingly reduced..

Frictional elects are automatically minimized in regulators constructed in accordance with the invention. Originally, vanes were providedon the underside of table 13.. These'vanes were dished similar to turbine buckets so that a stream. of fluid could be directed thereon and thuscause the tabley and piston 3 to spin and thus insure that the piston would oat freely when balanced by the opposed pressure andv weight forces. Experiments revealed, however, that separate means for causing rotation of the table and piston 3 wereunnecessary, the reaction forceproduced by tluid leaving the-threaded portion when it was discharged into passageway 9 producing suflicient torquelto cause piston 3 and table 13 to spin freely.

With pump 16 in operation, and with the proper weight corresponding to the desired pressure to be held in conduit 17 placed onftable 13,. piston member moves upward if there is` an increase in pressure in conduitl11 as previously described and thus reduces the amount of restriction presented' to theibypass flow from conduit' 6A to` conduit 7. Conversely, if the pressure in conduit 17 falls, piston 3 will also fall thus presenting a greater length of thread 3a below passage' 9. This additional restriction tenrporaril-yr reduces theamount of bypassow until the pressure in conduit 17 returns to the` desired value. lt will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that threaded portion 3afunctions asa very fine control with relatively large axial displacements of piston 3 producing reiativel-y small changes in the `overall pressure drop between inlet port tand discharge port 5. Thus it will be seen that very srnallpre'ssurev fluctuations' in con duit E7 are quickly sensed and corrected for so that the regulator"`is capable-` ot controlling the pressure in conduit 1177 withinvery close limits. Test resultsobtained with one regulator designed to bypass approximately .7 gall/ min. from a three gallons-per minute' systern'- and to regulate at 45 lbs/sq. in. clearly indicate that the regulator would hold vthe system pressure within .015 of' one percent `while the' bypass llow'varied -from its normal value to avalue equal to" I9percent of the' normal by- .pass flow. Other .regulators in accordance with the iuso long as the passages of the regulator are designed to handle the proper amount of ow under normal` design conditions. In this connection, by making the threaded portion 3a with larger area threads or of greater pitchv (shorter length), the capacity of a given size of regulator piston will be increased. This change will also decrease the amount of lift or piston travel required for control, which may be desirable since the lift in head of uid being handled bythe regulator'` is the only deviation from the pressure which the regulator is intended to regulate. Likewise, it willA also be apparent to those skilledwin the art, that some increase in capacity of the regulatorzean be obtained by increasing the diameter ofV the piston' 3. This effect, however, will be relatively small as compared to the amount of change in capacity that can be obtained' by increasing the thread area.

in Figure 2 which is a modified version of the-iarrangemeut shown in Figure l, like elements bear the same notation, and means are provided for guiding the entryof the bypassed fluid from bore portion 2 into threadedl In this modification, an unthreaded portion.`

portion. 3a. 19 is provided at the lowerend of piston member 3;

A groove 20 is provided between threaded portion 4' and unthreaded portion 19. Communication is established' between the threaded portion 4 and the lower face Ila" of pistonv member 3 so as to provide a guided inlet .for the iluid tlowing from bore portionZ into threadedporftion 3a. by means of an axially extending passageway 21- which' communicates with a radial passageway 22 whichin turn communicates with groove 20. Figure 3* differs from Figure 2 only in the provision of a flared passage'- way 21a to provide better guidance of the fluid. Oper-` ation' of the devices shown in Figures`2 and 3 is in exactly the same manner as the device shown in Figure l=.

Figure 4 shows another modification of the`device shown in Figure l. Again, like elements bear likenotation. I'nthe arrangement shown in Figure 4,-the threaded portion 1a is an internal thread in the cylinder wall that? detines' bore portionZ. The piston member Sis.' unthreaded throughout its entire length. Operation7 ofthe device shown in YFigure 4 is substantially in accordance:v

with that of Figure l in that between passageway '8"and the face 11 of piston member 3, the ow is through bore-1 portion Z which presents little or no restriction to theflow of tiuid. The level at which piston member 3 floats' ini housing 1/wil determine the length of the threaded'epo'rtion 1a through which the tluid mustV then ow beforet reaches passageway`9.

ln Figure 5, there is shown a still further modication of the invention in which meansare provided -fori 1min'- imizing theleliect of dynamic forces which may the' pressure: sensing face llc of pistonlmember 3`. *sin the previous tignres, like elements bear like notation. 'f

In Figure 5", piston member 3' is provided with an Unthreaded portion 19 that is separated from threaded'l portion 4- somewhat in the same manner as is` disclosed in Figures. 2 and 3'. ln Figure 5, however, th'e 20a is of' substantial length along'the axis of the piston member 3 as compared to the length of grooveiftlp'mvided `-in Figures?. and v3. Threaded portion 3a andfportion i9I are connected by a portion 25 having asmall'er diameter than piston 3; lnlet port 4 and connecting -passage S-communicate with the bore portion 2v atl a' location" between the upper face 115 of Unthreaded portion-19 and the lower face il Vof threaded portion 3u'. The lspacing; between-faces lilly, 11 .is chosen and the location pinpas-- sageway 8 relative thereto is so arranged that passageway 8 will not become blocked in any operating position of piston 3 either by the threaded portion 3a or by the unthreaded portion 19.

Also in Figure 5, the housing 1 is provided with an additional port 24 which communicates with bore portion 2 by a connecting passageway 25. Pressure sensing port 24 is connected to conduit 17 at any convenient location between pump 16 and the iiuid consumer 18 by conduit 2 Operation of the modification shown in Figure 5 is substantially as described in connection with Figures 1-4 but differs in a relatively slight but very important detail. The discharge pressure of pump 16 is sensed through conduit 26, port 24, connecting passage by the lower face 11e of unthreaded portion 19. The flow of bypass duid is through conduit 6, port 4, connecting passageway 8, through bore portion 2 between faces 11b and 11, then through threaded portion 3a, connecting passageway 9, and finally discharged from the regulator through conduit 7. In this manner, the static pressure of the liuid conlined in bore portion 2 between faces 11b and 11 is balanced because the upward force exerted against the face 11 is exactly balanced by the downward force exerted against face 11b. Therefore, the static pressure sensed by the regulator is that sensed by the lower face 11e of unthreaded portion 19. it is to be noted that the pressure sensed by face 11C is truly static since the pressures exerted against faces 11aI and 11b are equal so that there will be little if any tendency for leakage flow to occur past unthreaded portion 19 and the walls of housing 1 that define bore portion 2.

Admittedly, dynamic forces due to the flow of fluid will not be completely eliminated by the arrangement shown in Figure 5 since there will be an actual ow of uid into the first thread of threaded portion 3a. However, this dynamic effect will be relatively small since it is felt over a relatively small percentage of the area of face 11. Therefore, any dynamic pressure forces that may be sensed by the regulator will be minimized since sensing of the static pressure is accomplished by the full area of face 11e.

Still another modification is shown in Figure 6 for obtaining greater iiow capacity, that is, larger thread area as compared to the effective sensing area of piston member 3.

An unthreaded portion 19 is connected to threaded portion 3a by a connecting portion 23 as described in connection with Figure 5. However, the bore portion of housing 1 is divided into two separate bore portions 2 and 2a of unequal diameters. Likewise, threaded portion 3a and unthreaded portion 19 are also of unequal diameters corresponding to the diameters of bore portions 2 and 2a, respectively. Of course, sufiicient clearance is provided between the outer diameters of portions 3a and 19 and the inner diameters of bore portions 2 and 2a and these elements are arranged in coaxial relation so that piston member 3 slides freely in a direction along its axis as well as being free to rotate about its axis.

As previously explained in connection with Fig. 5, passageway 8 is disposed between faces 11b and 11 and the spacing between these faces is such that communication between bore portion 2 and connecting passageway 8 will not be interrupted in any operating position of piston member 3.

Port 24a and connecting passageway 25a are provided as in the arrangement shown in Figure 5. However, 24a is not a pressure sensing port in this case and is connected to the atmosphere by conduit 27. In the arrangement shown in Figure 6, connecting passageway 25a and conduit 27 serve the purpose of collecting and disposing of any slight leakage that may occur past unthreaded portion 19.

As already indicated, by making threaded portion 3a of substantially larger diameter than unthreaded portion 19,

greater ow capacity of the regulator can be obtained by the provision of threads of larger cross-sectional area for a given effective sensing area. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the sensing area of the regulator shown in Figure 6 is equal to the cross-sectional area of threaded portion 3a minus the cross-sectional area of unthreaded portion 19. In other words, the effective sensing area of the regulator of Figure 6 is the annular area enclosed within the diameter of threaded portion 3a and having an inner boundary that is circular in shape and equal to the diameter of unthreaded portion 19. Of course, operation of the embodiment shown in Figure 6 is identical to the embodiment shown in Figure 1 except that slight leakage that may occur past unthreaded portion 19 is caused to flow into conduit 7 throughconnecting passageway 25a and conduit 27.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it Will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention and it is intended to cover in the appended claims all such changes and modiiications that come within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What l claim as new and desire to Patent of the United States is:

l. A pressure regulator having in combination a housing member having a longitudinally extending bore with spaced inlet and discharge ports communicating with said bore, said bore being vertically disposed, a piston member extending into said bore slidably and rotatably disposed therein, said piston member having a helical threaded portion and cooperating with the housing member to form a fluid passageway between said inlet and discharge ports, the length of the passageway being dependent on the relative vertical position of said members as determined by the difference between the fluid force and the gravity force acting on the piston member, a weight supporting table member supported by the piston member, means for supplying a uid under pressure to said inlet port, said uid passing through the fluid passageway formed by the helical threaded portion of said piston member to impart a rotary motion to said piston and weight supporting table member due to the reaction force produced by the` fluid leaving the threaded portion of the piston.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein the piston member has an end portion disposed within .said bore between the respective locations at which the inlet and discharge ports communicate therewith.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a second unthreaded piston member coaxial with the rst piston member and connected to the threaded lower end portion thereof and spaced therefrom, the inlet port communicating with said bore at a location between the first and second piston members, and a pressure sensing port communicating with said bore at a location below said second piston member.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 including a second bore having a smaller cross sectional area than that of the first bore and disposed coaxially below and in communication therewith, a second piston member within the second bore and connected to said first piston, and a drain port communicating with the second bore at a location below the second piston member.

secure by Letters References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 156,165 Jonson Oct. 20, 1874 799,732 Harsen v Sept 19, 1905 1,427,600 Justus Aug. 29, 1922 1,712,791 Gallagher May 14, 1929 1,861,017 Lake May 31, 1932 1,976,820 Wettstein Oct. 16, 1934 2,303,590 Towler Dec. 1, 1942 2,496,214 Johnson Jan. 31, 1950 

